SEC switch has given Texas A&M recruiting momentum, but Aggies must cash in

1/8

Stuart Villanueva/AP

CRUCIAL GAMES, KEY PLAYERS AND BIGGEST QUESTIONS FOR THE 2012 TEXAS A&M AGGIES: With a freshman quarterback, a first-year head coach, and a loaded schedule in the toughest division in college football, the Texas A&M Aggies figure to have their hands full this football season. But the Kyle Field faithful still have hope that this year's squad can show some improvement after a disappointing 2011 season. Here is Chuck Carlton's breakdown of the key playmakers and crucial matchups that Aggie fans can expect this season.

But
the fault lines of the Aggies’ move to the Southeastern Conference from
the Big 12 stretch across all major conferences, with potentially
far-reaching consequences.

This is because Texas A&M sits on
the nation’s most fertile ground for football prospects: The state of
Texas typically produces the most Division I signees, about 350 per
year. While the Aggies conducted business in the Big 12, and as Texas
and Oklahoma re-established dominance under Mack Brown and Bob Stoops,
much of the top talent remained close to home.

But A&M switching conference addresses changes things.

“You
can look at it two ways,” said Jeremy Crabtree, senior recruiting
coordinator for ESPN. “Texas A&M can sell to Texas recruits that it
plays in the nation’s toughest conference.

“And SEC schools can come into Texas and tell kids they can play a game in their own backyard every other year.”

Either way, the recruiting stakes are higher for the Aggies, who have to step up their game to be competitive in the SEC.

Texas
A&M seemed to have several advantages in the Big 12: size and scope
of the football program, one of the league’s larger operating budgets
and proximity to perhaps the largest concentration of great high school
athletes in Houston.

But, except for the 1998 Big 12 championship —
an upset victory over Kansas State — the Aggies never won at expected
levels. Two winning conference records in A&M’s final seven years in
the Big 12 spanned two coaches. Dennis Franchione was fired after the
2007 season, and Mike Sherman got the axe after last season.

Enter
Kevin Sumlin, who was hired from Houston, where he went 35-17 in four
years, including 12-1 last year. He previously worked at A&M as a
wide-receivers coach and briefly as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator
under R.C. Slocum.

Sumlin is breaking in a new quarterback after
first-round draft selection Ryan Tannehill moved on, and sophomore
Jameill Showers was the leader after spring workouts. But Sumlin insists
a battle will continue through the week of the Aug. 30 opener against
Louisiana Tech in Shreveport, La.

That could make this a difficult
transition year for the Aggies, coming off a 7-6 season that ended with
a victory over Northwestern in the Texas Bowl.

“I don’t care what
league you’re in, when you have a new quarterback and a new coaching
staff, there’s going to be a period of adjustment,” said Slocum, the
all-time victory leader among coaches in A&M history.

But Slocum is convinced that Texas A&M made the right move and that the recruiting advantage will belong to the Aggies.

“The
best-case scenario is for a kid to go to a school where his folks can
see him play,” Slocum said. “Mama, dad, grandma, little sister, they all
come to the games. That’s never changed.”

Sumlin said the early
returns have A&M expanding its recruiting boundaries, especially in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. Schools in those states, like the
Aggies, play in the SEC West.

“Our brand at Texas A&M, our
history, our tradition, our location, being part of the SEC has not hurt
us one bit in the state and moving east, and nationally,” Sumlin said.

Three
players from Louisiana are part of the Aggies’ commitment list for
2013. No Texans are part of LSU’s yet. But Tigers coach Les Miles
expects his program to have a greater presence in the Lone Star State.

“There
will be a greater opportunity to go in there and recruit,” Miles said.
“I think there will be a little more open-door policy in Texas.”

If
Miles is correct, the recruiting heat in Texas will turn up for Big 12
schools. With A&M in the conference, the Big 12 was the only major
player in Texas. Sure, Texas fed programs throughout the nation, like
former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck from Houston.

But the Big 12 has worked hard to maintain Texas as a home-conference advantage.

Now, as Miles said, doors are open.

“Suddenly,
a Texas kid who was choosing among Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas
State or Kansas now might have Arkansas, LSU, or even Georgia coming in
with the same pitch,” Crabtree said.

Coaches who already know the
state, who have established trust with Texas high school coaches, will
have an edge, according to Crabtree. One of those programs could be the
other SEC newcomer, Missouri.

“The Missouri staff has done such a
great job in Texas over the past 10 years,” Crabtree said. “They can
walk into high schools in Houston and Dallas, and the coaches there know
them. That’s a huge advantage Missouri has right now over other SEC
schools.”

But the biggest edge in recruiting Texas goes to Texas A&M, and it’s never been more important for the Aggies to cash in.

———

TEXAS A&M

Established: 1876

Location: College Station, Texas

Distance from Columbia, Mo: 779 miles

Closest major airport: Houston George Bush and Houston Hobby

Campus:
The massive campus is home to about 50,000 students, making Texas
A&M one of the nation’s largest universities. A&M is one of six
senior military colleges in the United States and has one of the largest
uniformed student bodies outside of the military academies. Football
was important from its earliest years, and the fans who fill Kyle Field
are considered the 12th Man.

Kyle
Field, not only for an Aggies football game, but for Midnight Yell, a
Texas A&M tradition. The night before a home game students and
alumni file into the stadium’s student section. At midnight, yell
practice begins.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.